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CITIC Construction Wins $3.7bn Iraq Power Deal

By John Lee.

China’s CITIC Construction has won the bid for the first and second phases of AI Khairat heavy oil power plant in Iraq.

Yang Jianqiang, Deputy President of CITIC Construction, held talks with Mazin Wajih, Chairman of Harlow International, in Dubai representative office, and received the letter of acceptance issued by Mazin Wajih.

It is estimated that the contract value of each phase of the project is about $2.85 billion.

The AI Khairat heavy oil power plant is located in Karbala Province in south-central Iraq, about 100km away from Baghdad, next to the Karbala refinery, which provides its by-product heavy oil for the power plant as fuel.

The total installed capacity of the project consists of 8 power generating units of 400MW each, of which 4 units will be constructed in each phase and put into operation in batches.

As the EPC general contractor of the project, CITIC Construction will be responsible for designing, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the project for a period of ten years, and assist in financing on the premise that the owner is guaranteed by the Iraqi government.

Wining the bid has made CITIC Construction see another major breakthrough in electric energy market of Iraq following the project of Maisan combined cycle power plant. After the completion of the project, it will become an energy hub around the capital, which will provide power for the reconstruction of Iraq’s post-war industry, help ease the power shortage of residents in central and southern Iraq, improve people’s livelihood and safeguard social stability.

(Source: CITIC)

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Iraq to Invest in Greener Technology

By John Lee.

Iraq reportedly plans to invest $3 billion annually to transition from burning liquids to burning natural gas in its power plants.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Ali Allawi (pictured), told the Middle East Green Initiative Forum in Saudi Arabia that Iraq will also end gas flaring by 2025.

He also recommitted Iraq to working towards a greener future.

More here.

(Sources: The National, Arab News)

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Amid Iranian Gas Shortage, Iraq searches for Alternatives

By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Amid Iranian gas shortage, Iraq searches for alternatives

Iran’s dilapidated gas infrastructure has limited its transfers to Iraq, adding to Iraq’s own energy crisis.

Click here to read the full story.

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Iraqi Cabinet allocates $34m for Emergency Electricity Work

By John Lee.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi chaired the regular session of the Iraqi cabinet on Tuesday.

Addressing the ongoing crisis in electricity supply, the cabinet agreed to allocate 50 billion Iraqi dinars ($34 million) for emergency expenses and maintenance of the electricity infrastructure.

This will be achieved by profitable Ministry of Oil companies lending the funds to the Ministry of Electricity companies.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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KRG to rely 100% on Natural Gas for Electricity

Ten electricity plants were provided with transformers at a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in Koya town on Thursday.

The Deputy Prime Minister commended the Koya transformer project and addressed developments in the electricity sector, including the Kurdistan Regional Government’s decision to go all in on natural gas.

“The power generation costs are still high,” said Deputy Prime Minister Talabani, “and to solve this, we are planning to increase the dependency on natural gas to 100 percent as a source of fossil fuel in power generation.”

Also in attendance at the Koya ceremony was Minister of Electricity Kamal Mohammed Salih, who provided more information on the 2.728 billion dinar (or roughly 1.8 million USD) transformer project.

Minister Salih hailed the cabinet’s achievements in power generation and distribution, and stated that more than 450 projects have been initiated with a total worth of 60 billion dinars.

KRG is planning to open three more power plants in the Kurdistan Region by the end of this year: a steam power plant in Khabat District, a gas power plant in the Garmian region, and a 37-megawatt plant in Deraluk.

The Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani also talked about his latest visit to Baghdad with the KRG delegation to discuss the region’s share of the budget.

He noted that one of the topics of discussion was cooperative power generation between the federal and regional governments, a step that would drastically increase Iraq’s supply of electricity.

(Source: KRG)

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Chinese Company to Develop Iraq’s Mansuriyah Gas Field

By John Lee.

The Chinese company Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) has won a contract to develop the Mansuriyah gas field in Diyala.

The field, near the Iranian border, is expected to produce 300 million standard cubic feet (Mmscf) per day of gas, which will be used for electricity generation.

In 2010, an agreement had been signed for the field to be developed by Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) (37.5%), Iraqi Oil Exploration Company (25%), Kuwait Energy (KEC) (22.5%), and Kogas (15%). This consortium stopped development in 2014 due to security concerns, and the agreement was reportedly cancelled in 2020.

Under the new 25-year deal agreed on Tuesday, Sinopec will have a 49-percent interest in the field, with Iraq’s state-owned Midland [Middle, Central] Oil Company having 51 percent.

The contract may be extended for an additional five years.

According to the Ministry of Oil, Sinopec’s bid was he lowest submitted.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Iraqi Cabinet approves New “Alternative Energy” Power Plants

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Cabinet has agreed to approve a recommendation from the National Investment Commission (NIC) for the Ministry of Electricity to proceed with an investment project for the construction of seven “alternative energy” power plants.

The new power stations are to be built in Karbala, Wasit, Babylon, and Al-Muthanna provinces.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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GE Synchronizes Gas Turbines at Zubair Power Plant

By John Lee.

GE Gas Power has said it has “marked a major milestone” by synchronizing two GT13E2 gas turbines to the national grid at the Zubair Permanent Power Generation Plant.

The facility is owned by the Basra Oil Company (BOC) and located at the Zubair oil field, about 20 kilometers from the city of Basra.

ENI Iraq B.V. is responsible for developing the oil field and had awarded a contract to GE for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the power plant.

Two other GT13E2 units at the site had previously been synchronized to the grid in summer 2020. The new additions have taken the total generation capacity of the site up to 700 megawatts (MW).

Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Gas Power in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, said:

“With Iraq’s population growing at over 2 percent per year, the demand for reliable, affordable electricity continues to increase. Every megawatt added to the grid can make a significant impact to the quality of life of the Iraqi people. 

“GE is honored to work together with ENI to support the country’s socioeconomic development by delivering much-needed electricity to power growth and prosperity for present and future generations.“

(Source: GE)

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